pictures stop moments from slipping away
by particularly good finder
Summary: Kurt and Finn realize that maybe, just maybe, they weren't as careful as they thought. And really, in the end, it doesn't matter. Kurt/Finn


**God, I don't even know. Boredom, I guess? Definitely not my best. –sigh-**

They were so careful, not even Sherlock Holmes would have figured it out.

So how the entirety of the glee club knew, neither Finn nor Kurt was sure. But the Monday after prom, everyone just _knew_.

Mercedes was the first to approach the boys, her face split between happiness and suspicion. She gave Kurt a hug, congratulating him, then turned to Finn, jabbing her finger against his chest.

"You hurt him, you die. Got it?" Finn nodded slowly, unsure of what she was talking about. Then she left, running off to catch up with Tina. The quiet goth turned as Mercedes caught her, and her eyes seemed to relay the same message that Mercedes had said: _You hurt him, you die._

The two boys turned to each other, both much paler than they should be. Both faces seemed to ask each other the same question: _Do they know?_

Rachel was the next to approach them, as they headed for Schuester's Spanish class. Holding Jesse's hand tightly, she said that she was very happy for the two boys and that her fathers would approve. Kurt seemed to grow paler, but Finn wasn't quite sure what she was talking about. Jesse just nodded in agreement, and that was that.

"Finn, I think I'm going to pass out now," Kurt said faintly as they walked into class. Mr. Schue smiled at the boys with a knowing grin, then turned to write out _vocabulario_ on the board. The taller boy was feeling rather confused, but decided that worrying about strange looks and suspicious friends would only stress out Kurt even more.

But worry he did. Not ten minutes into the class, a ball of paper hit the back of his head. As soon as Mr. Schuester's back was turned, Finn grabbed it from the ground, opening it curiously. On it was a crude depiction of him, kissing an even cruder depiction of Kurt. Finn's face grew hot, and he passed it silently to Kurt. As the smaller boy examined the drawing with pink-tinged cheeks, Finn turned to see Puck laughing and making kissy-faces.

Kurt swallowed loudly, then leaned in to whisper, "They know. How could they _possibly_ know?" Finn shrugged slowly, suddenly finding his desk very interesting.

Class dragged on slowly, full of words Finn didn't understand and that Kurt made no effort to learn. As soon as the bell rang, the two were out of their seats, slightly more panicked than they should be.

"Hey Kurt! Finn!" Brittany called to them, dragging Santana along by the hand. The boys stopped, bracing themselves for whatever the Cheerios had to say.

"Brittany, hello," Kurt said, eyes widening as he plastered a fake smile onto his face.

Brittany grinned dreamily at the two boys. "We just wanted to say that it's, like, _really_ cool that you two are, like, you know, dating. So me and San have decided to come out as well." She raised their intertwined hands, giggling a little as Santana kissed her on the cheek. Kurt blinked, face drained of color, and Finn stared, bewildered, at the lack of scowl on the dark-haired girl's face.

"See you in glee club!" Brittany said cheerily, and the two girls walked off, ponytails bouncing.

The boys just stared at each other, mouths open in complete shock. Once again, the question presented itself. _How the hell did they know?_

As it turned out, every member of New Directions knew. Quinn approached them next, pushing Artie through the crowded hall, and apologized to them for Puck's actions during Spanish class. Artie gave them both fist-bumps, saying something about how cool it was that they were comfortable with their sexuality. And while Matt and Mike didn't actually_ say _anything about _knowing_, they did pound both boys on the back as they passed, grinning playfully.

"But how did they-? I mean, we _never_…" Finn was starting to panic as they walked to the choir room – as much as he loved Kurt, he _just wasn't ready_ to come out, not to his mom, or his teammates, or even his friends. Kurt desperately wanted people to know, but he respected Finn's boundaries; he was just happy enough to finally _have_ the football player for his own.

"I have no idea…" They entered the room, obviously late to practice as everyone had started warming up already.

"Here they are!" Rachel shouted, seeming quite upset about their tardiness.

Puck grinned mischievously. "I'll bet they were hooking up in the bathroom!"

Finn's face turned bright red and Kurt scowled. "No, actually," the latter said, huffing a little. "We were wondering how you all found out. We've been trying to keep it on the down-low."

Mercedes grinned, holding up a packet. The group crowded around the piano as she dumped out a couple of photos, spreading them out so all were visible.

"Well, we took a few group pictures at prom – me, Artie, Tina, Matt, Mike, and Brittany – and when I got home, I noticed something. Here, in the first one – look, in the background, you," she nodded to Finn, "You have your hands on his shoulder. Not anything weird, but it made me look closely at the following pictures. You see in the next one, it's a little dark, but if you look hard, there – your faces are, like, an inch apart. Then, here your heads are touching, and the last one, my personal favorite." She handed it to the boys, who both blushed and gasped at the same time. There, forever captured on the shiny piece of paper, was a kiss. Kurt bit his lip as he remembered how rough Finn's lips had been on his cheek, how they thought no one could see their quick moment of intimacy in the dark, loud, confusing atmosphere of prom night. He could hear Finn swear under his breath, appalled by his own stupidity.

"Look, guys, can you please not spread this around school? We – well, _I'm _not ready to come out just yet." Finn looked down at the photos again, a pained expression on his face.

"Don't worry, Finn. Your secret's safe with us." Rachel stepped forward, smiling.

"Just as long as you don't break my boy's heart," Mercedes piped in, wrapping an arm defensively around Kurt's shoulder.

He smiled softly at the protective girl. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Good." She smiled back, and the whole room started cheering.

"Par-tay!" Mike shouted, grabbing Tina and Brittany by the hand, twirling them around. Puck started running victory laps around the room, pushing Artie with him. Matt and Quinn revealed a cake they had messily put together for this occasion (gleeks would party for any reason) and Santana turned up some music. Mr. Schue just laughed, setting down the music he had planned on teaching them that day.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Finn's waist, resting his head on the tall boy's chest. Finn grinned, kissing the tiny boy's head. He should have realized that coming out to the glee club kids would have been painless – they were the freaks of the school, were they not? They understood, more than anyone, what it was like to be different. They were true friends; they accepted Finn no matter what sex he was attracted to.

The party quickly livened up, with dancing and eating and laughing. As Finn watched Kurt teach Jesse and Matt the Single Ladies dance, he smiled and grabbed the picture of the kiss from the piano.

How funny these things happened – one slip-up, and a moment of love was forever documented on camera. And through that documentation, acceptance for that love was found in the greatest friends two boys could ever ask for.

With the comforting feeling of the picture in his pocket, Finn went to join in the learning of Kurt's dance, smiling wider than he had since prom.

**Okay…not my best. But I still like it, so please, please review! Please!**


End file.
